


Of Red Roses and Giant Chocolates

by ZionAngel



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1212247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZionAngel/pseuds/ZionAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even if Mr. Gold can't have the sweet librarian for himself, he wants her to know that someone is thinking about her on Valentine's Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Red Roses and Giant Chocolates

Adrian Gold’s life changed a lot after his divorce.  He doesn’t get to see his sweet boy every day, which all but killed him in the beginning.  He’s not as wealthy as he once was, for a variety of reasons.  He was depressed for a long time after it all happened.  When he inherited a gaudy pink Victorian house from a distant relative, he moved in straight away, hoping the free rent and change of scenery from the big city would do him good.  It was all right for a time, certainly not worse, but not particularly better than his old life.  Then he met the librarian.

Belle makes him smile and brings joy into his life.  He devours books as quickly as he can and returns to the library for more several times a week.  It gives him a chance to see her again, and something to talk about when he sees her to make those brief minutes last just a little bit longer.  They enjoy so many of the same books, and somehow he seems to make her laugh.  She is kind and brave and gentle, all the things his cynical attitude told him couldn’t really exist in the real world, and yet there she is, day after day, smiling and making him feel like he is worth something.  He hasn’t felt that way in a long, long time.

If the small town rumor mill is to be believed, Belle doesn’t have a date this Valentine’s evening.  He isn’t terribly surprised – although everyone in town is nice enough to her, they all think she is rather odd, and whisper about her when she can’t hear.  They have that much in common, he supposes.  Still, it’s a travesty that no one else can see what he sees, that no one appreciates her sweet, bookish nature, that no one else seems to see how utterly perfect she is.

Sometimes, when he goes to the library and finds her sitting at the circulation desk, he sees something in her eyes, just for a split second before she looks up and smiles at him.  He is familiar with loneliness, so he knows it when he sees it.

He knows he doesn’t stand a chance with her, as desperately as he wants her.  But still, someone like Belle deserves to be happy, to feel loved.  She deserves a prince, someone to adore her and tell her every day how wonderful she is and how much she is loved.

Instead, it seems, all she has is him.

He wants to do something for her, wants to muster up what little courage he has, to be brave and kind for her.  He wants to give her even just a tiny fraction of the happiness she has given him.  If he was a wealthy man – and if she was actually his to love – he would celebrate the occasion by showering her with exquisite diamond jewelry, and whisking her off to whatever far-off destination her heart desired.  But they aren’t dating, and he’s not the man of means he used to be.  So, instead, he spends ten minutes picking out the perfect red rose at the market, and adds in the oversized Hershey’s chocolate kiss sitting on the check-out counter, and makes his way to the library.

Even if he can’t be hers, he can at least let her know that someone out in the world cares for her.

\--- ---

The library is completely deserted this Friday afternoon, not a single patron roaming the book stacks.  No doubt everyone is at home, getting ready to see their special someone this Valentine’s Day.

Belle tries not to feel too lonely or left out – she has her family after all, and several wonderful friends, and her library.  She has a good life.  She tries her best to be grateful for it, and she is, most of the time.  She doesn’t have as much luck trying not to pine over someone she can’t have, or wishing there was something more there.

She sits at the circulation desk, reading some sappy romantic drama in honor of the occasion.  It doesn’t lift her mood quite as she hoped it would.  The door opens without warning, and she tucks her bookmark between the pages as she looks up, expecting to find some high school student trying to finish a project at the last minute.  Instead, she finds Adrian.

“Mr. Gold,” she says, heart racing as she sits up and tucks her hair behind her ear.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He just stands there for a moment, staring at her like he can’t decide whether to speak or turn tail and run.  “Well, I, uh…” he licks his lips and inches closer.  “I was on my way home, and I just thought I would stop in and… say hello.”

He pulls his free hand out from behind his back and reveals a lovely red rose.  Belle freezes, her eyes following the flower closely as he sets it down on the counter between them.  As if in slow motion, she watches as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a comically large chocolate kiss, placing it next to the rose.  Belle can’t say a word, and only manages to stare at the flower, then at him, and back again.

“I just… didn’t…” he begins again, and she struggles to hear him over the pounding heatbeat in her ears.  “I wanted to make sure you knew... someone was thinking about you today.”

He smiles and backs away, looking all at once nervous and happy and a little bit sad before he turns his back to her and heads for the door.  Belle’s heart falls as she realizes that he has no intention of taking this any further, of asking her out to dinner this evening or anything else, even though it’s rather impossible to misinterpret the meaning of this gesture.

“Adrian, wait!” she calls, jumping up from her seat and coming around to the other side of the desk.  He stops as well, startled by her sudden outburst.  “I… you…”  She has to say _something_ she knows, but for all her giddiness and trepidation and the fluttering in her heart, she can’t quite think of what.

After several seconds of silence, he cringes, backing away nervously and holding up his free hand in defense.  “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I –”

That’s not what she means, not at all, and she needs to say something _now_ before one of them manages to permanently ruin this.

“I’m hungry!”

“…What?”

She looks past him out the window to the diner across the street.  “Do you… like hamburgers?”

He places both hands on the head of his cane.  “Yes, of course.”

“Well, um… I hear Granny’s makes a great one.  Maybe we could go and get some?”

He stares at her, his brow drawing together.

“Now.”

He stares at her for ages, studying her as if he is looking for some ulterior motive or some way that he could have misinterpreted her meaning.  Belle spends the whole time praying she hasn’t done the same.

Eventually, a small smile tugs at his lips, and she could swear he is on the verge of tears.  “I would like that.”

Belle feels herself blush, a rush of tension and nervous energy leaving her body all at once.  She hurries back to the desk and fetches her purse and keys from the drawer.  She bites her lip as she grabs the rose and chocolate from the counter.  He holds the door open for her, and she can’t help but giggle with nervous, elated anticipation as she locks the library door from the outside.

She twines her arm through his as they make the short walk to Granny’s.


End file.
